Bodies recovered from Lake George

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By Scott Brand

Sault Ste. Marie Evening News - Sault Ste. Marie, MI

By Scott Brand

Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 1:45 PM

By Scott Brand
Posted Jan. 8, 2013 at 1:45 PM

Lake George

The bodies of two Ontario men have been recovered in northeastern Lake George after the snowmobilers were reported missing at 8:14 a.m. Saturday, according to an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) press release.

The body of Steven Matte, 37, of Garden River, Ont. was recovered at 2:25 p.m. Sunday, while Frank Guerriero, 34, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. was recovered at 4:35 p.m. Monday. Both men were reportedly found in the water several hundred meters, according to the press release, off the shoreline of Ojibway Park, Garden River First Nation.

A knowledgeable Sugar Island resident explained the dangers of the ice where the waters of the St. Marys River constrict around Ontario’s Squirrel Island and spill into Upper Lake George.

The powerful currents rip through the channel and continue on over toward Echo Bay, weakening any ice that happens to form over the waters which can easily exceed 30-feet in depth.

“I don’t go out there,” said the avid angler, adding he avoids this area even under the coldest winter conditions.

After receiving the call regarding the missing men, the Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Provincial Police was joined by the Anishinabek Police Service, the OPP Emergency Response Team, and OPP helicopter and Sault Search and Rescue but their efforts were unsuccessful.

On Sunday morning, the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit was joined by the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department in the dive effort focusing on the 30-foot waters off of Sand Island. Divers recovered one body on the first day and returned Monday to widen their search, subsequently locating the second late in the day.

Lake George, on the east end of Sugar Island, serves as the International Boundary for that section of the St. Marys River with the western portion in U.S. waters and the eastern portion, where the two sleds went down, in Canadian waters.